Three sites in the Western Balkans were chosen as a project worth 2,8 million euros in the preservation and restoration of the cultural heritage in the region that is financed by the European Union, announced today the European Commission at a meeting of a working group for culture and society of the regional cooperation (RCC) held in Novi Sad in Serbia.
“The European Commission reached a decision on the selection of three sites for the funding as part of a special grant of the EU, whose realization would increase the impact and visibility of the Ljubljana process’’, said Venceslas de Lobkovič, Councilor for Cultural Heritage in the General Directorate of the European Commission for Enlargement.
The projects that are expected to be funded is the Franciscan monastery in Bač, Serbia, fortress Kastel in Banja Luka and the archeological site Apollonia in Albania.
Chairman of the working group Borče Nikolovski stressed the importance of the successful realization of the EU funds of 500.000 euros for the reconstruction of monuments that require emergency intervention, preliminary research works, and conceptual design and development of management plans.
“Six projects have already been realized. Of the grants, a total of 25 projects will be of use and this will be through sub-grants or tender procedures’’, said Nikolovski.
The head for building human capital and supporting issues of the Secretariat of the Regional Cooperation Council Mladen Dragašević stressed the importance of synergy between all existing activities in the Ljubljana process and the roles of the working group for culture and society council as a coordinator in the area of culture and creative industries strategy of South East Europe 2020.
“The JIE strategy 2020 will, as the main actor of the Strategy and program of works of the Regional Cooperation Council for the period of 2014-2016 will focus on concrete, tangible results of restoration of cultural heritage and its contribution to economic and tourist development of local communities and countries in the region’’, he said.
At the sixth meeting of the working group for culture and society of the RCC, a narrative quarterly report on the activities of the working group and its Secretariat from April 2013 was adopted.
Participants discussed the assessment reports of the state of heritage in South East Europe, as well as the forming of state working groups and the development of methodologies for business planning and fundraising.
At the meeting organized by the Secretariat of the working group, senior officials participated in the Regional Cooperation Council for South East Europe, as well as representatives of the Secretariat and the European Commission, announced RCC.
(Source: Fena)
